AMHERST, MA – The 20th-ranked Amherst College men's basketball team won its eighth straight game to open the season this evening, taking out Babson College (4-5) in non-conference action. The Lord Jeffs started the second half on a 24-7 run, blowing the game wide open en route to a 104-72 win over the Beavers.
Amherst started the game on a 9-2 run, but Matt Zoia and Alex Rudolph scored back-to-back buckets for Babson to close the gap to three points. Amherst responded with consecutive three-pointers from junior Taylor Barrise (Allendale, NJ) to take a 17-9 lead.
At the 11:19 mark, Jeff Holmes (Saunderstown, RI) made a pair of free throws coming out of a Babson timeout to put Amherst up 10 points. The Jeffs got another pair of triples from guards Conor Meehan (Meriden, CT) and Aaron Toomey (Greensboro, NC) on either side of the ten-minute mark to take a 26-14 lead.
Amherst's lead grew to 13 points, but just before the seven-minute mark Babson's Russell Braithwaite finished off a three-point play to close the gap to single digits at 31-22. Amherst then scored five points in a row, before Babson responded with a 9-0 scoring run capped by a three from Zoia. With the lead down to five, Barrise hit his fourth three of the first half from the left corner.
Barrise and David Waller (Tampa, FL) drilled Amherst's ninth and tenth triples of the half, stretching the Lord Jeff advantage back to 45-33 with 1:45 to play in the frame. The Jeffs were able to hold onto an 11-point edge heading into the locker room up 48-37.
Barrise finished the first half 6-for-9 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from three-point land, for 17 first-half points to lead the Jeffs. Waller chipped in with nine points in the half. Babson was led at the break by 11 points from Zoia and nine points from Matt Florio.
Amherst started the second half on a 10-2 run over the first 2:39, with Waller forcing Babson into calling a timeout with an emphatic breakaway dunk. Coming out of the stoppage, Barrise drained his sixth three of the night. At the 13:48 mark, Barrise hit another triple, bringing his game total to 7-of-10 from long range.
A Workman three ball with 13:21 to play put Amherst on top 72-44, forcing the Beavers into another timeout as the Jeffs had opened the half on a 24-7 run. Amherst's lead grew to 30 points with 12:49 remaining, and it never dropped below 22 points again.
With the decision never in doubt, head coach David Hixon '75 was able to rest his starters down the stretch. Barrise finished with a team-high 23 points in the win, while Waller added 18 points in just 18 minutes of action. In his last three games, Barrise has shot 18-for-27 (.667) from three-point range. Zoia led the Beavers with 22 points in the loss, while Florio chipped in with 13 points.
Amherst will return to action at Anna Maria on Saturday at 3 p.m. before breaking for the holidays. The Jeffs will then not play until a December 30 game at Johnson & Wales in Miami, FL.
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